For Immediate Release
May 7, 2013

DIA ART FOUNDATION ACQUIRES 30 MAJOR ARTWORKS CURRENTLY ON LONG-TERM LOAN FROM THE LANNAN FOUNDATION

NEW YORK, NY AND SANTA FE, NM – Dia Art Foundation and the Lannan Foundation today announced that Dia has acquired 30 major works of contemporary art that have been on long-term loan from the Lannan Foundation. The partial gift, partial purchase agreement that enables the acquisition supports the close, decades-long relationship between the two institutions and represents one of the largest philanthropic donations ever made by the Lannan Foundation.

The artworks enter Dia’s collection as Dia:Beacon inaugurates its 10th anniversary celebration with a year-long series of programs and events that highlight its renowned holdings in contemporary art. The 30 artworks—by John Chamberlain, Hanne Darboven, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Bruce Nauman, Robert Smithson, Lawrence Weiner, and Robert Whitman—have been on long-term loan to Dia since Dia:Beacon’s opening in 2003. Other major works from the Lannan Foundation—Michael Heizer’s North, East, South, West and a group of seven date paintings by On Kawara—were previously donated to Dia.

Patrick Lannan, President, Lannan Foundation, commented, "We were drawn into a supportive relationship with Dia back in the early 1990s and it continues to this day because of their long commitment to nurturing, supporting, and presenting some of the most important and often most difficult art of our times under the best possible conditions. Dia:Beacon is a living testament to the integrity of this vision. Dia:Beacon offers visitors an opportunity for a quiet, contemplative visit with some of the most interesting contemporary art in the world. The closure of this phase of Lannan support for Dia underlines our continuing confidence in the current leadership under board chairman Nathalie de Gunzburg and reaffirms our optimism for Dia's long-term future."

Nathalie de Gunzburg, Chairman, Dia Art Foundation, stated, “The Lannan Foundation has been extraordinarily generous to Dia for many years: providing grants to commission new works at the former Dia Center for the Arts in New York City, donating major works of art to Dia’s collection, supporting the construction of Dia:Beacon, and providing significant support to The Lightning Field. We are immensely grateful to Patrick Lannan and the Lannan Foundation for this most recent instance of its farsighted and collegial philanthropy.”

Philippe Vergne, Director, Dia Art Foundation, added, "As Dia is contemplating a decade of presence and work in Beacon, this acquisition is absolutely key—not only to celebrate our past, but also to truly understand and ground our future. By securing this collection we are honoring Dia’s relationship with a group of works and artists who have shaped our identity and mission."

The works being acquired by Dia are: The Privet (1997) by John Chamberlain; Kulturgeschichte 1880–1983 (1980–83) by Hanne Darboven; the nominal three (to William of Ockham) (1963) by Dan Flavin; Untitled (1975), Untitled (S.207–210V) (1991), and Untitled (S.219–222H) (1992) by Donald Judd; Innocent Love series: Love, Contentment, Innocent Living, Happiness, Innocent Happiness, Perfect Happiness, Innocent Love, Where Babies Come From (eight paintings, 1999) by Agnes Martin; Left or Standing, Standing or Left Standing (1971/1999), South America Circle (1981), and Mapping the Studio I (Fat Chance John Cage) (2001) by Bruce Nauman; Gravel Mirrors with Cracks and Dust (1968), Leaning Mirror (1969), Closed Mirror Square (Cayuga Salt Mine Project) (1969), and Map of Broken Glass (Atlantis) (1969) by Robert Smithson; 5 Figures of Structure (1987) by Lawrence Weiner; and Spyglass (Film Images, 1960–1976) (1976-2003) and Solid Red Line/The Thin Red Line (1967) by Robert Whitman.

Dia:Beacon
In May 2003, Dia Art Foundation opened Dia:Beacon, unveiling its collection of art from the 1960s to the present. In keeping with Dia’s history of single-artist presentations, each gallery of the former Nabisco box-printing factory was designed to present the work of one artist in depth. A decade later, Dia:Beacon continues to support Dia’s mission through the presentation and scholarship of the collection as well as special exhibitions, performances, new commissions, and education programs.

Dia Art Foundation
Dia Art Foundation, founded in 1974, is committed to initiating, supporting, presenting, and preserving extraordinary art projects. Dia:Beacon opened in May 2003 in Beacon, New York. Dia also maintains several long-term, site-specific projects including Walter De Maria’s The New York Earth Room (1977) and The Broken Kilometer (1979), Max Neuhaus’ Times Square (1977), Joseph Beuys’s 7000 Oaks (1988), and Dan Flavin’s untitled (1996), all in Manhattan; the Dan Flavin Art Institute in Bridgehampton, New York; De Maria’s The Vertical Earth Kilometer (1977) in Kassel, Germany; Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty (1970) in the Great Salt Lake, Utah; and De Maria’s The Lightning Field (1977) in Quemado, New Mexico.

Dia currently presents temporary installations, artist lectures, and readings on West 22nd Street in the Chelsea section of New York City, the neighborhood it helped pioneer. Plans for a new project space are underway.

For more information, visit www.diaart.org.

Lannan Foundation
Lannan Foundation is a family foundation dedicated to cultural freedom, diversity, and creativity through projects that support exceptional contemporary artists and writers, as well as inspired Native activists in rural indigenous communities. The Foundation recognizes the profound and often unquantifiable value of the creative process and is willing to take risks and make substantial investments in ambitious and experimental thinking. Understanding that globalization threatens all cultures and ecosystems, the Foundation is particularly interested in projects that encourage freedom of inquiry, imagination, and expression. The Foundation supports this mission through funding in the programs areas of Contemporary Visual Arts, Literature, Indigenous Communities, Cultural Freedom, and a Writers’ Residency Program.

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Contacts:
Dia Art Foundation, press@diaart.org / 212 293 5518
Lannan Foundation, christie@lannan.org / 505 954 5149